By the numbers: scary percentages

As we bid farewell to July, here were some of the month's weirdest statistics.

79 percent…

On average, the annual increase in a married couple’s car insurance policy when a teenage driver is added to the policy. “Teenage males (plus 92 percent) are much more expensive to insure than teenage females (plus 67 percent),” says the research from InsuranceQuotes.com.

63 percent…

Parents who worry, “I will not have enough money for one or more children to go to college.” Why? Maybe because the same percentage worries, “I will have health care costs that I can’t afford,” according to a Harris poll released Monday. Oh, and 68 percent worry, “I will not have enough money for retirement.” Not exactly a bright future ahead for a lot of folks.

46 percent…

“Teens and young adults who cited shopping as one of their favorite activities,” according to a survey by consumer research firm Alexander Babbage. Other activities included “music, movies and video games.” Not surprisingly, “The 13-to-17-year-old group showed a stronger interest in using malls as places to ‘hang out,’ compared with the 18-to-24-year-old age group.”

22 percent…

Americans who “admit to watching or listening to the TV while they are intimate with their partners.” That’s good news for television makers LG Electronics, who commissioned the poll that also revealed, “Even with the ability to pause live TV, 37 percent of people admit to leaving the door open while in the bathroom so they can keep watching.”

19 percent…

Americans who clean their bathrooms only once a month, according to a survey commissioned by the makers of the cleaner CLR. Yet when Americans use public restrooms, which are cleaned more often than that, 50 percent “admit to flushing the toilet with their feet.”

4.63 percent…

Millionaires in New York City. That’s almost 1 in 25 residents, or 389,100 of them in total. While that could be good or bad depending on your politics — “yet another example of wealth disparity!” vs. “cool, I’m gonna be next!” — the survey from a consulting firm called WealthInsight reveals the United States isn’t a major player. The Big Apple was the only U.S. city in the Top 10, and only two others showed up in the Top 20: Houston (2.09 percent) and San Francisco (2.04 percent).